Peel Region

Health > Family Health > Baby's First Year > Nutrition > Feeding - Six Months to One Year …

Revised: Monday April 11 2011

Making Homemade Baby Food

It is easy to make your own baby food. You can use the same healthy foods that you feed your family.

Homemade baby food is healthy for your baby. It also:

• Saves you money
• Lets your baby try a greater variety of foods
• Helps your baby get used to different tastes and thicknesses of foods
• Lets your baby eat the same foods as your family

Grocery Shopping
Getting Ready to Make Baby Food
Safety Tips
Making Infant Cereal
Making Fruits and Vegetables
Making Meat and Alternatives
Storing Home Made Baby Food
Thawing Frozen Baby Food

Grocery Shopping
Here are a few tips to remember at the grocery store:

• Check the expiry date of any products you are buying by reading the label
• When buying meat, choose leaner cuts of meat when possible
  
• Remember to wash your reusable bags regularly
  Place packaged meat in separate plastic bags to prevent spreading of bacteria.
• Pack raw meat in a separate bag from fresh fruits and vegetables
  
• When you get home, unpack your meat and place it at the bottom of your fridge, so it doesn't drip onto any other foods.
  

Getting ready to make baby food
To make baby food you will need:

• A food blender or mixer
• A wire sieve
• A small pot
• A potato masher, fork or spoon
• Tongs
• An ice cube tray

Safety Tips

Preparing food safely is very important. Here are some tips:

• Wash your hands with soap and water:
  
  
  • before starting food preparation,
  • when switching foods,
  • after using the washroom, and
  • whenever hands are dirty
• Use clean utensils and cookware

Plain foods help baby learn about flavours. You don't need to add sugar, salt, margarine, or butter.

How to prepare different types of foods:

• Infant Cereal
• Vegetables and fruits
• Meat and fish
• Meat alternatives

Infant Cereal

• Remember to offer your baby single grain cereal
• Follow the instructions on the infant cereal box
• Use breast milk or water to mix the cereal
• Mix the amount of cereal that you need for the feeding
• Do not reuse leftovers or freeze cereal
• Start your baby off with liquidy cereal
  
• Gradually move on to cereal with lumps
  

Vegetables and fruits

Cooking vegetables and fruits

• Choose fresh or frozen vegetables and fruits
• Wash, peel, pit, and/or seed before slicing

• Place vegetables or fruit in a small amount of boiling water
• You can also steam vegetables instead of boiling them

• Cook until tender

• Put cooked vegetables or fruit into a bowl and add some of the cooking water.

• Add more cooking water, and use a blender to make a liquidy puree for babies just starting to eat solids.

• For older infants, you can add less cooking water and use a masher to leave lumps in the food.

Meat and fish

• Remove meat from package using tongs.

• Cut meat into small pieces.
• Remove all visible fat and skin.
  • You can cook meat with the bone in but remember to remove the bones before you make baby food.

• Place a small piece of meat in a saucepan.
• Add just enough water to cover the meat.

• Bring to a boil, reduce heat, and simmer.
• Boil meat until tender and thoroughly cooked.
• Check meat is cooked enough using a meat thermometer.
• Cooked meat will easily fall from the bones or the fish flakes easily with a fork.

• Let the meat and cooking water cool.
• Once cool, remove bones.
• Transfer meat into food blender or mixer.

• Add some cooking water.
• Add more water to make the food more liquidy for younger infants.
• Add less water to make a the food thicker for older infants.

• Blend meat until it is the right thickness for your baby.

Examples of Textures (Thickness)

• Start your baby off with liquidy food.
• Push the blended food through a sieve for younger babies if the texture is too thick.
  
• Gradually move up to a thicker texture with more lumps.
  

Meat alternatives

Lentils and Beans

• Some legumes such as chickpeas, kidney and navy beans need to be soaked for 24 hours before cooking.
• Other legumes such as lentils and split peas do not need to be soaked, but cooked according to package directions.
• Dried beans are a healthier choice than canned beans because they do not contain any added salt
  

Tofu

• Use plain tofu, chopped into small pieces and follow cooking instructions on the package

• Let the tofu or beans cool.
• Transfer them to the mixer or blender.
  
• Add some cooking water.
  
• Add more water to make a liquid puree for younger infants.
• Add less water to make a thicker puree for older infants.

Eggs

• Mix the egg well using a mixer.
• Cook egg well until yolk is no longer liquid.
• Blend with a little water or mash with a fork.

Your baby will not need puréed or blended foods for long. At seven months offer mashed foods. Next, offer soft pieces of food.

Storing Homemade Baby Food

You can make large batches of fruits, vegetables, meats and alternatives and freeze them for future meals.

• Set aside the amount of food you plan to offer for that meal.
• Pour food into an ice cube tray.
• Freeze the extra food to be used at a later meal.
  
• Once frozen, remove the ice cubes from the tray.
• Place frozen cubes into a freezer bag.
  
• Label the bag with the food's name and the date you made it.
  
• This food can stay in the freezer for 2-3 months

Thawing Frozen Baby Food

• Remove the portion needed for the meal
• Put it in a small pot on low heat until heated
• Warm it to a safe temperature
• Do not refreeze unused portions

Resources:
Eat Right Ontario Eat Right Ontario

Information on foods and healthy eating for all ages.
Website: www.eatrightontario.ca

For more information:
Region of Peel — Public Health   
905-799-7700
Monday to Friday 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.
Caledon residents call free of charge at 905-584-2216
To speak with a Public Health Nurse

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